Lubbock Left

Woops, almost forgot to post this:

Event Date: Apr 30, 2008
Event Time: 7:00 PM
Venue Name: Godeke Library
Address: 6601 Quaker
City: Lubbock
State: TX
Zip Code: 79413

We will screen the file “No End in Sight” which is about the Iraq war.
As always, refreshments are provided and a discussion will follow the film.

Hope to see you there!

Lubbock’s most accessible elected official is having another town hall meeting tonight at 6:00p.m. at Parsons Elementary (56th & Elgin). The meeting is for District 3 residents, but all are welcome. I’ve heard that there may be candidates for non-city positions there to speak as well.

Be there or be square!

Well, this certainly is interesting:

demandanaudit.com

I would like to see a side-by-side rebuttal from the Martin Campaign or from someone who can explain the Martin side of the AAG issue. Any takers?

Normally I’m not the biggest fan of KFYO AM 790, but, since Chad Hasty has taken over the morning show there, things have opened up a great deal. Case in point: KFYO will host the first (and likely only) Lubbock Mayoral debate featuring all four candidates. It will take place on their morning show Tuesday, April 29 from 7AM-9AM.

Via Chad Hasty’s blog:

This debate will feature ALL the candidates. That’s right you will hear from Mayor David Miller, Tom Martin, Roger Settler, and Gilbert Montes. This is the only debate that has all 4 candidates participating. We felt that it was important to invite all the candidates since they will appear on the ballot, and all the candidates have a right to express their opinion. People want to hear others ideas and beliefs on the City, and we think it’s important to hear them.

The debate will be 2 hours long and will focus on the issues that concern you. The candidates will also be allowed to interact and ask each other questions. The debate will be moderated of course by myself and Rex. Listeners will also be invited to submit their own questions via email. All you have to do is send an email to chad@kfyo.com

Way to go, KFYO and Chad!

Also, don’t forget that Todd Klein’s town hall meeting will take place at 6:00pm on the evening of the 29th at Parsons Elementary. Hooray for two great strides for political openness in Lubbock in one day!

I’m looking forward to a talk Tuesday night at Texas Tech’s Allen Theatre — renowned climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe will speak at 7:00 pm as part of Texas Tech’s Earth Day celebration.

From the news release:

A Nobel Laureate will speak as part of the Earth Day event presented by Texas Tech University’s Grassroots organization at 7 p.m. April 22 in the Allen Theater.

Katharine Hayhoe, a research associate professor in the Department of Geosciences and part of the Nobel Prize-winning U.N. panel on climate change, will give a speech about climate change and the effects it has on Earth. She will discuss how seemingly contradictory theories about the cause of climate change can all be rooted in scientific truths established for more than a century. Hayhoe will also discuss small, everyday changes that can better the world for future generations.

I have heard Dr. Hayhoe speak before, and she’s great.

I would be thrilled if global warming skeptics would attend this free talk and see if their blustering stands up to real science. I’m looking at you, Robert Pratt and Donald May.

In honor of Ben Stein’s creationist shill-fest that’s opening in theaters this weekend, have an internet parody!

Some of the YouTube comments for this video were absolutely hilarious! Observe:

The theory of sex is incredibly lame. I know about people who have tried this “sex” thing multiple times, but no babies appeared!

And no one has never ever observed a baby appearing during sex!

Clearly, sex is nonsense. It doesn’t work. It’s just an evil ideology, a religion which contradicts the glory of the Stork.

And another:

Sex theorists want us to believe a sperm and an egg magically turn into a baby after 9 months LOL, where the proof?! They say sonographs are accurate but they date the age of the baby from the results but use the results to prove the sonograph, circular logic! Both theories have their problems, but Stork theory just have more evidence.

And yet another:

The Stork Theory of Delivery (STD) has been totally scorned by scientists. I guess they don’t like to have their pet theories about Sex questioned (even though it’s stupid - I’ve had sex hundreds of times and never had a baby).

Even if they don’t want to have STD in schools they could at least teach the controversy.

In the new media cycle, Friday is the most important day because it’s when office workers slack off and look for funny internet videos!

…go on brush your shoulders off:

One of the reasons that I support Obama is that he lives and breathes a new politics — one that is not driven by DC culture, big business, or political attack dogs. We see it in the way he consistently stays on message and rises above attacks from the wingnuts, and — unfortunately — attacks from Hillary Clinton, who should know better than that.

GET
THAT
DIRT-OFF-YOUR-SHOULDER!

Today the ACLU of Texas announced that 25 paid trips to the National ACLU Conference are available!

The ACLU nationwide Membership Conference is an opportunity for students
to meet up with others who believe in liberty and justice, to hear
well-known speakers and to attend workshops that provide skills and the
inspiration to stand up for freedom. The ACLU of Texas is proud to pay
for the registration fees and 2 nights’ stay in Washington, DC, for 25
Texas students who wish to attend! The conference begins on Sunday,
June 8 at 2 PM and concludes on Tuesday, June 10 at 2 PM.

Learn more:
http://www.aclu.org/conference/2008

Mayor David Miller gave a press conference today regarding the city’s health insurance/administration woes.

Former City Councilman (and current candidate for Mayor) Tom Martin responded with his own press conference about the same topic.

Both full videos are a lot to digest, and I think we are going to see more of this issue as the City election approaches.

The City of Lubbock will hold an election on Saturday, May 10 along with other cities, area school districts, and water districts. Today I want to focus on the City of Lubbock election only. We have elections in City Council districts 2 and 4 as well as the Mayor.

My prediction: All three races could go to a June runoff election, and I believe that all three races will go to a runoff.

My reasoning is as follows. In the race for Mayor, David Miller and Tom Martin will be in pretty much a dead heat for the top spot — more or less a rematch of 2006. Roger Settler has enough name recognition to pull upwards of 20% of the vote. Two front-runners pulling roughly the same number of 80% of the voters plus a 20% candidate equals a runoff between Miller and Martin.

In City Council District 2, I anticipate a similar situation with two front-runners and a minor candidate. Incumbent Floyd Price and challenger Armando Gonzales will be the top contenders, and challenger Gilbert Salinas will draw just enough votes to force a runoff.

In City Council District 4, I anticipate a runoff between Paul Beane and Jerry Bell. I believe that there is no clear front-runner in this race — each candidate will basically bring out their own “base” of voters plus whatever uncommitted voters they can. I just think that Beane and Bell will draw the most votes. We will probably have a 40-40-30 or 35-33-32 type of situation.

What are your predictions for the 2008 City of Lubbock election?